Life Lessons: Elizabeth Edwards' friends, family recall guidance she gave them

(Winston-Salem Journal) - Hundreds of family and friends gathered yesterday to honor the life of Elizabeth Edwards, who had been praised for her strength amid a series of life tragedies that included the death of a son, a betrayal by her husband and a battle with cancer that eventually led to her death.

The funeral was held at Edenton Street United Methodist, a Raleigh church that Edwards turned to after her 16-year-old son Wade died in a car crash in 1996. She was to be buried later in the day alongside her son during a private ceremony.

Speakers recalled Edwards as a woman filled with energy, intellect and humor. They joked they had trouble coming up with what to say without the woman who used to leave notes of advice for those close to her.